Light and lite claim rules.

How 101.56 is built

Section 101.56 regulates the terms "light" and "lite." Paragraph (a) says such a claim may be made only if the term is used in accordance with its definition in the section, the claim follows the general nutrient content claim requirements in 101.13, and the food is labeled in accordance with 101.9 or 101.10 where applicable. The section then has: (b) the general calorie and fat route, (c) light in sodium, (d) meal and main dish products, (e) a limit on other uses, (f) a common-usage exception and (g) lightly salted. The text is the eCFR version current through October 29, 2026.

The calorie and fat routes: paragraph (b)

Without further qualification, "light" or "lite" may be used on foods other than meal and main dish products if:

• (b)(1) the food derives 50 percent or more of its calories from fat, and its fat content is reduced by 50 percent or more per reference amount customarily consumed compared with an appropriate reference food; or
• (b)(2) the food derives less than 50 percent of its calories from fat, and either (i) the number of calories is reduced by at least one-third (33 1/3 percent) per reference amount compared with an appropriate reference food, or (ii) its fat content is reduced by 50 percent or more per reference amount compared with the reference food.

Relative claim disclosures apply: the reference food and the percent reduction in calories and fat must be declared in immediate proximity to the most prominent claim (for example "1/3 fewer calories and 50 percent less fat than our regular cheese cake"), with quantitative comparison information adjacent to the claim or the nutrition label. If the labeled food has less than 40 calories or less than 3 g of fat per reference amount, the percentage reduction for that nutrient need not be declared (b)(3)(iii). A light claim may not be made on a food whose reference food already meets the definitions of both "low fat" and "low calorie" (b)(4).

Light in sodium: paragraph (c)

• If the reference food has 40 calories or less and 3 g fat or less per reference amount, "light" or "lite" may be used without qualification when sodium is reduced by 50 percent or more compared with the reference food, with the reference food and percent declared beside the claim (c)(1).
• If the reference food has more than 40 calories or more than 3 g fat, the term "light in sodium" or "lite in sodium" is allowed with a 50 percent or greater sodium reduction, provided "light" or "lite" sits in immediate proximity with "in sodium" and the entire term is in uniform type size, style, color and prominence (c)(2)(i). It may not be made if the reference food meets the definition of "low in sodium" (c)(2)(iii).

Meal and main dish products: paragraph (d)

For meal products and main dish products (defined in 101.13(l) and (m)), "light" or "lite" may be used if the food meets "low in calories" under 101.60(b)(3) or "low in fat" under 101.62(b)(3), and a statement on the principal display panel explains whether "light" means "low fat," "low calories" or both, for example "Light Delight, a low fat meal." The statement must be no less than one-half the type size of the claim (d)(1). For these products "light in sodium" requires meeting "low in sodium" under 101.61(b)(5)(i) (d)(2).

Other meanings and lightly salted: paragraphs (e) to (g)

• (e) Apart from the routes above, "light" or "lite" may not describe a food not reduced in fat by 50 percent, or in calories by one-third, or in sodium by 50 percent when properly qualified, unless it describes a physical or organoleptic attribute such as texture or color and says so (for example "light in color"), with the attribute in the same style and color and at least one-half the type size as "light" and in immediate proximity.
• (f) If a manufacturer can demonstrate that "light" has become part of the statement of identity through common use to reflect a physical or organoleptic attribute (for example light brown sugar, light corn syrup, light molasses), it is not treated as a nutrient content claim under the part.
• (g) "Lightly salted" may be used on a product with 50 percent less sodium than is normally added to the reference food, and if the product is not "low in sodium" under 101.61(b)(4), "not a low sodium food" must appear adjacent to the nutrition label.

Worked example

A snack bar has 160 calories and 6 g of fat per reference amount, against 240 calories and 10 g for the reference product, with 34 percent of calories from fat. Because it is under 50 percent calories from fat, the (b)(2) route applies. Calories are down by one-third: (240 minus 160) divided by 240 is 33.3 percent, just meeting the one-third reduction. Fat is down 40 percent, which alone would not reach 50 percent. So the calorie reduction carries the claim, and the label would still need the reference food and percent reductions declared beside it. The checker above does the arithmetic with the unrounded numbers you enter.

What the numbers do not decide

Choosing an "appropriate reference food" is governed by 101.13(j)(1), which this page does not read in full, and whether the low fat and low calorie bar in (b)(4) bites depends on the definitions in 101.60 and 101.62. The page also does not decide whether a "light" brand name or a descriptive use is a claim. It is not advice on any product label.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 21 CFR 101.56, Nutrient content claims for "light" or "lite" (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 21 CFR part 101, Food Labeling (read November 2, 2026)